Published: Sunday, February 16, 2014 at 03:03 AM.

At first glance, the young-adult novel “These Broken Stars” is highly reminiscent of the movie “Titanic,” with the exception that it takes place in outer space.
Lilac LaRoux is the daughter of a wealthy businessman, while Tarver Merendsen is a decorated war hero who comes from humble beginnings. They are attracted to each other instantly one night at a ball but know they can never be together due to their opposing social statuses. Then disaster strikes and they are the last survivors of the luxury spaceship The Icarus.
This “Titanic”-esque plot is only in the beginning. When Lilac and Tarver’s escape pod and leftover remnants from The Icarus land on a strange planet, the book increasingly resembles the TV show “Lost.” Our duo makes its way through jungles, deals with whispers in the night, solves a mystery, and fights off the strange animals that appear on the planet while finding a way to be rescued.
Through their struggle, Tarver and Lilac become closer and rely on each other for survival. With no hope of being together back home, they can’t help but wonder that no rescue would be better.
While gathering supplies they begin to unfold the truth behind the mysterious voices and stumble upon an abandoned warehouse filled with scientific experiments about the planet. Even more suspicious — Lilac’s father’s company emblem is found everywhere. Could this be a cover-up plot? Will Lilac and Tarver ever get rescued? And will Lilac and Tarver get to be together?
What really makes this book a hit is the writing. Sometimes when you have two authors working on a book, the writing styles compete with one another, but there are no such issues in “These Broken Stars” — Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner have written a cohesive, science-opera masterpiece.
Lilac and Tarver are well-developed throughout the book and the authors brilliantly take their time peeling back the layers in each character.
Sometimes when authors use alternating chapters to demonstrate the characters’ viewpoints, they end up shortening the characters’ development, but this is not the case. The audience has plenty of time to fall in love with the couple.
Then there is the plot — filled with action and twists to keep us on our toes. Once I started this book, I could not stop. There is plenty of action, but the overarching romance is the true focus and it is refreshing to see characters that do not fall prey to the “instalove” phenomenon. The romance is slow in developing but much more realistic.
There is romance, mystery, fantasy, adventure and enough science fiction to keep you hooked in this book. It’s perfect for the reluctant teen reader in your family.

Kathryn Lallinger is a children’s library assistant at May Memorial Library in Burlington. Contact her at klallinger@alamancelibraries.org or (336) 229-3588.

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At first glance, the young-adult novel “These Broken Stars” is highly reminiscent of the movie “Titanic,” with the exception that it takes place in outer space.
Lilac LaRoux is the daughter of a wealthy businessman, while Tarver Merendsen is a decorated war hero who comes from humble beginnings. They are attracted to each other instantly one night at a ball but know they can never be together due to their opposing social statuses. Then disaster strikes and they are the last survivors of the luxury spaceship The Icarus.
This “Titanic”-esque plot is only in the beginning. When Lilac and Tarver’s escape pod and leftover remnants from The Icarus land on a strange planet, the book increasingly resembles the TV show “Lost.” Our duo makes its way through jungles, deals with whispers in the night, solves a mystery, and fights off the strange animals that appear on the planet while finding a way to be rescued.
Through their struggle, Tarver and Lilac become closer and rely on each other for survival. With no hope of being together back home, they can’t help but wonder that no rescue would be better.
While gathering supplies they begin to unfold the truth behind the mysterious voices and stumble upon an abandoned warehouse filled with scientific experiments about the planet. Even more suspicious — Lilac’s father’s company emblem is found everywhere. Could this be a cover-up plot? Will Lilac and Tarver ever get rescued? And will Lilac and Tarver get to be together?
What really makes this book a hit is the writing. Sometimes when you have two authors working on a book, the writing styles compete with one another, but there are no such issues in “These Broken Stars” — Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner have written a cohesive, science-opera masterpiece.
Lilac and Tarver are well-developed throughout the book and the authors brilliantly take their time peeling back the layers in each character.
Sometimes when authors use alternating chapters to demonstrate the characters’ viewpoints, they end up shortening the characters’ development, but this is not the case. The audience has plenty of time to fall in love with the couple.
Then there is the plot — filled with action and twists to keep us on our toes. Once I started this book, I could not stop. There is plenty of action, but the overarching romance is the true focus and it is refreshing to see characters that do not fall prey to the “instalove” phenomenon. The romance is slow in developing but much more realistic.
There is romance, mystery, fantasy, adventure and enough science fiction to keep you hooked in this book. It’s perfect for the reluctant teen reader in your family.

Kathryn Lallinger is a children’s library assistant at May Memorial Library in Burlington. Contact her at klallinger@alamancelibraries.org or (336) 229-3588.